ROTC builds better students

After reading Liles Neal’s opinion on the ROTC program in Thursday’s newspaper, I must heartily disagree with the premise of his piece.

Certainly he is entitled to an opinion, but in this case his opinion is uninformed at best and silly at worst.

To say we play no part in this community is completely false – the ROTC department and the clubs under it can be found at most community events. From football games, to funerals and even the Polar Plunge, we are out in force helping the community in a positive manner. To say that we contribute nothing to the campus is also false.

ROTC cadets have a higher average GPA than most groups on campus, and that’s because we have to in order to be cadets.

We do not get the luxury of sleeping in on weekday mornings or skipping classes to play ultimate Frisbee on the mall.

Many weekends are spent not driving on the parkway but training to protect the freedoms America enjoys.

To say we do nothing to enhance the academic mission of this university is completely false as well – many of our cadets came to

Appalachian because of our exceptional ROTC program and the scholarships we offer. I myself am one of them.

This university has one of the top programs in the country because we have exceptional cadre who train us in many things besides military tactics.

They hold us to higher standards than most other groups on campus.

The ROTC program is one of the toughest courses I have taken, and it has pushed me to become not just a better student but a better person.

Values like integrity and honesty, moral courage and a sense of pride in the nation push many of us to be part of something better and to strive for constant improvement in ourselves and this nation as a whole.

Many of the cadets here are professionals, and they have taught me more than any class I could ever have taken here about myself and how to succeed.

Thomas J. Stocker
sophomore political science major
MSIII Cadet
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Right to bear arms remains vital part of American life

The recent commentary on gun control clearly misses the mark on what the Second Amendment is about.

Although hunting is an important American tradition that should be protected, that was not what our founding fathers had in mind.

The right to bear arms was put in the Bill of Rights so we would be able to protect all of our other freedoms and defend our lives.

The commentary also made the argument that a gun in the home is dangerous, but when looking at all the evidence, that is clearly not the case.

It is true that only a few hundred criminals are killed each year on average by an act of self defense according to the FBI, but the number of times a firearm is used for self-defense in the United States is 2 to 3.6 million times per year, according to criminologists

Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz in a study published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.

In the vast majority of cases, a criminal will flee at the sight of an armed victim and in other cases they will be detained or wounded.

You do not have to kill a criminal to successfully protect yourself.

Accidents are always possible with firearms, but such is the case with many things.  

In fact, you are more likely to die from riding a bike, swimming, driving a car or poisoning, to name a few.

Should we ban cars and household cleaners because they might cause death?

Kevin Oshnock
history graduate student
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


Gun control position lacks logic

 This is in response to the opinion piece by Emily Melton titled “Gun Control Policies Not a Bad Idea.”

While Ms. Melton’s article demonstrated a charming naivete, that hardly overcomes an embarrassing lack of logic.

First, her faith in Obama’s campaign promises at best reflects her youth.

Though I’ve heard of no comments by the president, HR 45, proposed by Representative Bobby Rush, an old friend of Obama’s from the vastly corrupt Chicago Democratic “machine, is easily the most far-reaching, unconstitutional gun control legislation ever introduced in Congress. Given Atty. General Heller’s attitudes and past actions, it is hard to imagine that if the bill makes it out of committee, Heller’s and Obama’s support will immediately become public knowledge.

The medical journal article to which she refers has been thoroughly disputed since its publication years ago. Certainly, providing one instance that corresponds to the second claim of the study by no means establishes its validity.

As for the notion about the unavailability of a gun should it be needed, that simply is not supported by Ms. Melton in any fashion.

It might interest her to learn a surprisingly large number of people regularly carry handguns in their homes.

Additionally, a large number of people have handguns stashed in various parts of their homes so they are never more than a couple paces from one.

Ms. Melton argues Obama’s past record, “ . . simply proposed the preventive measure for the ability of criminals to easily access weapons.”

Could it be that she does not know there are federal and state laws in all states making it a felony for a convicted felon to possess a firearm?

The sale price of guns is irrelevant to criminals, given the fact that the majority of the guns they get their hands on are stolen and/or purchased on the black market.

No, the proposed 500 percent increase in gun taxes was just one of the nastier gun control laws and propositions that have always and only affected law-abiding gun owners.

A factual tidbit that might interest Ms. Melton is that both the Center for Disease Control and the American Academy of Science did in-depth studies of all the existing gun control laws in the U.S.

Neither organization was able to discover one single instance where any of the 20K plus laws prevented a crime.

Does she think gun control laws are still a good idea?

Is she, like the Brady Bunch and all other gun-grabbers going to talk about “common sense” laws?

Most of that huge number of laws was promulgated by anti-gun people and organizations. Why couldn’t they provide any common sense to any of those they’ve lied to achieve?

Unless she intended to say non-resistance, I am completely mystified by Ms. Melton’s brief statement about how to respond to aggressive behavior.

I am likewise confused as to what she meant when she spoke about Obama’s potential actions.

I have to confess I am just plain aggravated by Ms. Melton’s suggestion that buying a gun to defend one’s self or family is somehow hypocritical.

She provided nothing to substantiate such a statement, nor a word as to what it is to which people buying guns would be hypocritical.

If she would care to examine the Christian tradition, Christ said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers stated, all men are created with “unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Self-defense is loving one’s self.

The right to fight to stay alive was bestowed by God in the minds of our forefathers, and in the minds of most Americans for over two centuries. It is only lately that it has been suggested that self-defense is wrong.

Perhaps Ms. Melton would be happier in Great Britain, where it is now against the law to defend yourself, even in the event of home invasion. I can think of no other place on earth where such warm, fuzzy notions belong.

I wonder if she knows that violent crime has ballooned since firearms were outlawed, or if she is aware that it is very easy to buy firearms in England.

Were her article a paper in either a logic or journalism class – if merit still enters into grading – I fear she would fail her assignment.

Dave Cumming
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

ROTC opinion debilitates students’ IQ

This message is directed to a Mr. Liles Neal who works for your organization.

My name is Eric Holm and I am a senator and president-pro tempore in the Student Senate, and a cadet in Army ROTC at Appalachian State.

I am writing to you due to a concern I have about an article done by the above mentioned person.

I am trying to figure-out on what basis this writer wrote the article that Appalachian State is no place for an ROTC program.

As a senator representing my constituents, I understand the importance for free speech and opinion.

However, I believe this article was completely unnecessary and completely opinionated.

I did not learn one thing from this article that will benefit myself or others by reading it; I actually felt that I got dumber by reading this “article.”

I cannot seem to grasp the concept a student who has never attended a class in ROTC or has any background information on what we do could make such a judgment.

Eric J. Holm
freshman law major
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


Professor corrects previous article

This letter is to correct a misstatement by Edward Sztukowski in his article “Panel discussion challenges war on drugs.”
In the article, Sztukowski wrote that I said “... between 1979 and 2005, there were 1.5 deaths per year attributed to marijuana in the District of Columbia ...”
In fact, the 1.5 deaths per year are for the entire country, which I said “includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia.” This is a small but very important difference.
Of course, the point remains true that when one compares use of drugs like marijuana with other drugs (in all of the United States), it becomes obvious just how safe marijuana really is.
Further, the 37 deaths attributed to marijuana in all of the United States between 1979 and 2003 is less than those that died from falling in wells (51), in sports collisions (51), from snake bites (97), from spider bites (99) and because of injuries sustained while mowing the lawn (151).
I guess we now know what type of grass is really dangerous!
As for more serious threats, about 25,000 died from falling down the stairs, more than 30,000 people died from choking on food, nearly 40,000 died from choking on things other than food and 285,000 people drowned, including almost 7,000 that drowned in their own bathtubs!
In terms of other drugs, alcohol killed about 400,000 people during this time.
And, according to the same CDC, tobacco kills 430,000 every single year, including 38,000 nonsmokers!
So now we see how silly a “war on marijuana” really is.

Matthew Robinson
government & justice studies professor
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


ROTC contributes to community

Clearly everyone has an opinion and it is our right to verbally express it however we feel necessary, but to verbally bash the organization that keeps that “right” alive for us is absurd and distasteful.

Appalachian’s ROTC program has been honoring the university and its community for decades.

Just in this semester alone, the ROTC program has worked with local Cub Scout units, gathered hundreds of canned foods items for the homeless and even raised hundreds for the Special Olympics through the Polar Plunge.

It is not just about the community either; ROTC has represented ASU by sending our Ranger Challenge Team to Fort Jackson, S.C, to compete against several other schools including The Citadel (a military academy) to take home first place in the competition.

This year ASU’s ROTC has even been selected to compete against West Point and Britain’s Royal Military Academy as well as many other Service Academies in the International Sandhurst competition.

Even after giving back to the community and representing the school in prestigious competitions the lieutenants that ASU commissions move on to representing the United States of America in the finest military in the world.

So to say, “From where I stand, there is no reason justifying ROTC at Appalachian” one would have to be standing ignorantly in the dark.

ASU’s ROTC commissions about 15 lieutenants each year, some of whom will proudly serve as a soldier their whole career, but others including myself will join the National Guard to serve their country as a citizen and a soldier.

Students want more access to a variety of different styles of education and are open to more ideas; excluding ROTC from Appalachian would be denying these students the right and opportunity to learn something different.

Ben Reeves
senior
biology secondary education major
Cadet Battalion Commander
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Legalization serves as key to drug problem, decriminalization unnecessary

Why, every time someone talks about drugs, they want to decriminalize?

Is there a good reason that we must keep the criminals fully employed?

Is there a rule that states criminals deserve the black market profits they currently collect?

Just the same as booze and tobacco, we need to stop pretending that making something illegal will stop people from using it.

So, after 35 plus years of abject failure, it’s time to change.

Legalize every drug already available on the street; put our officials truly in charge.

They would decide who could sell and to whom.

They could control strength and purity, collect taxes instead of flushing more billions down an unproductive toilet.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments